And so we come to the end of the 2nd volume. This volume was initially going to be narrated by myself, but I decided to leave it to Glint, instead. This is because, well, this part of the journey was really more about him than anyone else. Our worldwide tour was largely uneventful – fun, but uneventful. So an event like Ely picking Glint up left a rather big impression – we felt it wouldn’t be fair for this aspect of our adventure to go unrecorded, and so I had Glint record down his impressions of the events surrounding our meeting. As it happens, he claimed to recall them in perfect clarity, calling them “the events that changed my life”. I want to call it an exaggeration, but reading what he’s written here, I’m afraid I can’t really make that claim with confidence.

Of course, I didn’t find out about Ruth’s survival until much later. In hindsight, I should have guessed it – Ely trusted his teacher, which was rare enough in itself. On top of that, his teacher was a woman and well-versed in magic. Furthermore, Ely went to great pains to obscure the identity of Glint’s teacher from my knowledge, changing the subject whenever I brought it up. I’d decided not to mind it at the time, but it’s true that the clues for me to make the deduction were all present. Perhaps I did realise it, but chose to stay in the dark. I was still fragile back then. If Ruth had appeared before me, I’m not sure how I would have reacted. I might even have decided to give up on the tour.

Ah, but I digress. This volume is largely about Glint, and for good reason. Even after all this time, he’s continued to stay by my side, supporting my actions and protecting me. Even though the one he feels closer to is most certainly Ely. Such a diligent man. He’s proven time and again to be a reliable aide – and a good friend. Without his help, I most certainly wouldn’t have been able to achieve all that I have.

I should probably say a few words about Anneliese. I was a little worried about her when Glint rejected her – they were good friends, and I worried that the rejection would ruin that friendship. As it turns out, my worries were largely unfounded. They continued to maintain correspondance while we were travelling, and she even came to properly congratulate him on his wedding day. I remember him agonising about inviting her, so I’m glad that worked itself out.

Looking back on those days always brings a smile to my face. Those days when Glint first joined us, when the most we had to worry about was our performance routine, and the greatest danger to us was being unable to find a concert venue. Would that such days of bliss could have lasted forever. Alas, as the next volume shall detail, it was not to be.